Misfires in the Dorner manhunt

Police officers searching for suspected cop killer Christopher Dorner have now shot up innocent citizens on two occasions. Dorner is armed and dangerous, but you really have to wonder what’s going on.

On Thursday a vehicle matching Dorner’s gray Nissan Titan was reported in Torrance. Before long, according to the Los Angeles Times, at least seven police officers opened fire. They unleashed a barrage at a mother and daughter, ages 47 and 71, delivering newspapers while traveling in an aqua blue Toyota Tacoma. A photo of the vehicle after the encounter with police is below.

The second incident followed on Thursday morning in short order. Here is the opening of the Los Angeles Times story on the second incident:

David Perdue was on his way to sneak in some surfing before work Thursday morning when police flagged him down. They asked who he was and where he was headed, then sent him on his way.

Seconds later, Perdue’s attorney said, a Torrance police cruiser slammed into his pickup and officers opened fire; none of the bullets struck Perdue.

His pickup, police later explained, matched the description of the one belonging to Christopher Jordan Dorner — the ex-cop who has evaded authorities after allegedly killing three and wounding two more. But the pickups were different makes and colors. And Perdue looks nothing like Dorner: He’s several inches shorter and about a hundred pounds lighter. And Perdue is white; Dorner is black.

The Times quotes an attorney representing Perdue: “I don’t want to use the word buffoonery but it really is unbridled police lawlessness. These people need training and they need restraint.”

CORRECTION: In the first incident, as the Times reports, the older of the two women was shot twice in her back and seriously wounded. Her daughter escaped with minor wounds from broken glass. In the second incident Torrance police officers did the damage. I erred in stating originally that LAPD officers were involved, and missed their targets, in both incidents and have adjusted the text above accordingly. I regret the errors and thank commenters for pointing them out.